Fire & Ash (Fate of Eyrinthia #0.5) by Heather Frost

 

When Desfan Cassian, the future ruler of Mortise, skips his fifteenth birthday celebration so he can gamble in the slums, he knows his father won't be pleased. Then again, the serjan hasn’t been happy with him in years. And while Desfan anticipates a reprimand for his latest transgression, he doesn’t expect to be thrown out of the palace and exiled onto a patrol ship for the next year.

Then from the ashes . . .

Furious to be trapped on the same sea that stole his family four years ago, Desfan is fully prepared to hate his new life. After all, the Phoenix is run by a strict captain, and Desfan's annoying new bodyguard, Karim, is his constant shadow. But when Desfan learns that a group of dangerous pirates may have been behind the deaths of his mother and sisters, he's suddenly committed to hunting down the truth—no matter the risk.

He will rise.

***Fire & Ash is a novella set in the world of the Royal Decoy series. While it is a prequel story, it is best enjoyed after reading Royal Spy.***

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Oh Desfan.  My heart breaks for you.  Your life has not been easy and your own heart is battered.  My mama heart wanted to swoop in to save Desfan, to love him.  Lucky for Desfan, Karim enters his life.  It's a long, hard road to friendship but Karim just doesn't give up.  I loved him for that.  He is such a good guy.

It was so good to get a look into the life of Desfan and see what made him into the person we see in the previous books.  It's kind of like having "the rest of the story."  I know this is novella length but it really felt like a wholly developed story.  Maybe that's because of the previous books?  I just know that I was worried it would be too short for me but it wasn't.  I loved it beginning to end.  It was nice to have something from this world of Eyrinthia to tide me over until the next MUCH ANTICIPATED book.  😍

Content:  peril, violence, drinking and drug addiction

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.